(Ours regularly chases other neighbourhood cats off the property - when she's allowed out - but has yet to sustain any injuries, probably because she is big and they mostly seem to be small. And fast.)

Vets often have the idea that keeping an injured cat inside is a) possible and b) less stressful for the cat. My experience is that cats like to be free, and my cat gets super-stressed and panickey if shut in.

And Dejected Tail is a well-known post-traumatic psychosomatic injury ;-)

Oh, when I first moved in to the Point my two toms were hassled by a Ghost Cat of similar breed and nature. He followed us when we moved up the street - both for the food he could sneak, and to continue asserting his dominance. Unfortunately his testosterone-fuelled life left him with scars and infections that meant the local vet had to put him down rather than neuter him. His spirit lives on in the fig tree I planted on his grave - which appropriately enough fruits prolifically.

We had Ghost Cat floating around here when we first moved into Immoral Terrace, who haunted us nonstop for a couple of days (flatmates who had enjoyed a herbal cigarette or two found it quite strange to be woken up to a licking) but Ghost Cat has gone now, hopefully to a better place. Which is apparently Pt Chev. That's a long way away.

we've also acquired a cat. we named him quicksilver, because he darts, and talks a hell of a lot.

but... we've discovered that he animal is monumentally stupid.

Some sort of Siamese then, no?

@ Lucy, My man's sister has an indoor Siamese and I thought it was the cruelist thing to do to it.Chloe (this cat) got out one day,(we just happened to be visiting), she leapt the tall fence out back into the neighbours backyard and had a ticky tour and was found napping next door. First time the cat had shut up since it moved in, once she was redeemed.

Seems there's cat drama everywhere. Mate of mine's big all-white cat lost half its tail to a slamming door. Huge vet bill and the cat got a new new nickname Penis Tail, due to the pre-amputation shaving.

My own one decided to go behind the fridge last week. When trying to extricate himself, impaled his paw on the condenser, ripping it off its hinges. Cat and fridge both recovering nicely.

Nothing like a bit of cat drama to take your mind off things. The resident bogey cat here is called Mr Bigglesworth.

you see, this is where cat people and i differ. i had a cat run over by a bike - giving it a broken leg. i carried that damn cat and its cast to and from the litter box for weeks...

the second time it happened? the cat went to the big scratching post in the sky. who in the hell needs a three-legged cat, anyhow?

and thicksilver... we're thinking of getting a cat-door. but won't pay to have it put in, because the munter likely won't be able to work it. so far he's proof that being part-siamese does not guarantee smarts.

How about letting the man blog about his cat, if that's what he feels like doing?

Srsly. Indeed, if Russell wants to blog daily about the size and consistency of his cat's shit, that's his prerogative, Bobby Brown styles.

Pet-owning note: Americans are really into indoor cats, and are likely to look askance at you if you have an indoor-outdoor cat. I have even heard people say that having a free-roaming cat is animal abuse, which I find quite strange.

Anyway, Bill (RIP) used to sit on the front steps of our Ngata Street flat with us on the few days when a milky sun would fool us into thinking Palmy weather wasn't so bad. I say sit with us, because any attempt to stroke, pat, scratch or generally touch would be met with calm and deadly force. He'd sit there, master of all he could see - the road, footpath, front lawn and derelict car.

One day a foolish interloper decided to wander across the front lawn. Bill was pretending to be asleep. He must have detected a disturbance in the force. I know we sure did, because all conversation stopped. Bill stood up. We waited. Bill surprised us, because he waited until the strange cat had actually left the property and disappeared from view before deciding to wander after it and have a chat. Presumably he was concerned that we might be a little squeamish.

Pet-owning note: Americans are really into indoor cats, and are likely to look askance at you if you have an indoor-outdoor cat. I have even heard people say that having a free-roaming cat is animal abuse, which I find quite strange.

Verily. Justine and I looked after my sister's cats for a couple of years back in Italy, in a very small apartment and with no option to let them out of the door ever. Frankly it was not only animal abuse but also abuse of us humans.

Lucy - I have a difficulty about keeping a cat totally indoors = I mean,it's an animal;intrinsically it has to have a relationship with an environment =not just inside a house...Also, for me, it'd have to be an animal that can cope with travelling, meeting new animals (people included) and being able to deal with the animals in other (human) home environments...MaineCoons could be capable of that...anyone on PAS own one?